Automatic shut-off for gas or oil.



No. 726,522. PATENTED APR. 28, 1903.

G. FOX & J. A. WATERS.

AUTOMATIC SHUT-OPF FOR GAS 0R OIL'. APPLIUATION FILED JAN. 2s. 190s.

INVENTORS N N www La @f/1w UNITED STATES ATTENT OFFICE.

CHARLES FOX AND JOHN A. WATERS, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT.

AUTOMATIC SHUT-OFF yFOR GAS OR OIL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 726,522, dated April28, 1903.

Application filed January 26, 1903. Serial No. 140,545. \No model.)

To @ZZ wiz/0m, t may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES FOX and JOHN A. WATERS,ctizens of theUnited States, residing at Stamford,county of Fairfieldtate ofConnecticut, have invented a new and useful Automatic Shut-Off for .Gasor Oil, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates lo furnaces and engines using either gas or oilfor fuel, and has for its object to provide automatic means for shuttingoff the supply of fuel in the event of a stoppage of orseriousinterference with the air-supply.

With this end in view we have devised the novel automatic fuel shut-offwhich we will now describe, referring to the accompanying drawing,forming part of this specification, and using reference characters toindicat the several parts.

The view is a section of our novel shut-off complete, certain of theparts being shown in elevation.

It is of course well understood that in furnaces and engines usingeither gas or oil as fuel it is a matter of vital importance that theairsupply, which is usually from a blower, be uninterrupted; otherwisecombustion of the fuel is incomplete, and unpleas ant if not seriousresults are liable to follow unless the supply of g'as or oilA isimmedi;

ately cut off. Y

It has heretofore been a source of inconvenience in using gas and oil asfuel for leither engines or furnaces that should the blower-belt run offor anything happen to interfere with the air-supply escape of gas tookplace, and explosions 'frequently occurred where gas was used as fueland flooding with oil` took place where oil was used as fuel. Theseobjections are wholly overcome by the use of our novel shut-off, and theflow of naphtha or oil is instantly shut off if the air-supply ceases orfalls below a certain minimum pressure.

10 denotes a fuel-supply pipe, ll an airsupply pipe, and 13 a furnace orengine where the mixed air and gas is consumed, it being Whollyimmaterial, so far as the principle of the invention is concerned, howthe fuel and 1 air are mixed andwhat use is made of the inammablemixture.

14: denotes the disk, 15 the seat, and 1G vwhich is shown by dottedlines.

the'body, of a valve which is interposed between the fuel-supply pipeand the place of consumption.

17 denotes the body of our novel shut-o", which is located above and isrigidly secured to the valve-body. A stem 1S extends upward through achamber 19 within the body of the shut-off and through the upper wallthereof for convenience in starting. Within chamber i9 and closelyfitting the wall thereof is a disk 20, carried by the stem. An airpipe2l leads from the air-supply pipe to chamber 19. We preferably connectpipe 2l with a supplemental chamber 22, which surrounds chamber 19 andcommunicates therewith by a series of openings, (indicated by 23.) Thisconstruction is not essential, but is preferably adopted so as to ca useair to enter the shut-off chamber from all sides instead of at asingleopening.

The operation of the shut-oi will be clearly understood from thedrawing,in which the parts are shown infull lines in the operative orshutting-off position. This, however, is not the normal position of theparts in use, In starting, the operator, having iirst turned on theairsupply and the fuel-supply, raises the disk above openings 23 bymeans of the stem, which raises the valve-disk from the seat and allowsthe fuel to pass and also permits air to enter the chamber throughopenings 23. The pressure of air in the chamber now acts to retain disk20, and with it the valve-disk,in the raised position, as indicated bydotted lines, this being the normal position of the parts in use. Theinstant, however, that the air-pressure falls below a certain minimum,which its sufficient to hold disk 20, and with it the stem andvalve-disk, at the raised position, said parts will drop by gravity tothe closing position, as shown iu full lines in the drawing, and thevalve will instantly shut off the supply of fuel. The parts will re.-main inthe operative or shutting-off position without regard to changesin the air-pressure until disk 20 and the valve-disk are raised again bythe operator. Openings 2li are provided at the upper end of the chamberto permit air to escape when the disk is lifted, as in starting. Disk 2Oof course iits closely in the chamber, making it practically air- IOOtight, so that air under normal pressure entering the chamber When thedisk is at the raised position Will retain it raised and so retain thevalve in the open position.

Having thus described our invention, we claiml. A shut-off of thecharacter described comprising a valve, a chamber above the valve, adisk in said chamber,an air-pipe communicating With the chamber andconnections intermediate the valve and the disk, so that when the diskis raised above the airpipe normal air-pressure will retain it there andkeep the valve open, and when the airpressure falls the disk Will dropand close the valve.

2. A shut-off of the character described comprising a valve having astem, a chamber through which the stem extends, a disk in said chambercarried by the stem and an airpipe communicating with the cham ber sothat, when the disk is raised above the airpipe, normal air-pressureWill retain it there and keep the valve open, and When the airpressurefalls the disk and stem Will drop byl gravity and close the valve.

3. A- shut-off of the character described comprising a valve having astem, a chamber 19 through which the stem extends, a disk in saidchamber carried by the stem, a supplemental chamber surrounding chamber19 and communicating therewith and an air-pipe leading into thesupplemental chamber, so that when the disk is raised, normalair-pressure will retain the disk in the raised position and the valvein the open position, and when the air-pressure falls, the disk and stemwill drop by gravity and close the valve.

4. A shut-off of the character described comprising a valve having astem, a chamber through and above Which the stem extends, and which isprovided with openings 24:, a disk in said chamber carried by the stem,and an air-pipe communicating with the chamber, so that when the stem israised, air in the upper portion of the chamber will pass out throughthe openings, after which normal air-pressure below the disk Will keepthe latter raised and retain the valve in the open position, a fall inthe air-pressure causing the disk to drop by gravity and close theValve.

In testimony whereof We affix our signa tures in presence of twoWitnesses.

CHARLES FOX. JOHN A. WATERS.

Witnesses:

C. E. BoGARDUs, P. J. CLARK.

